Trump aide: Some immigrants 'too lazy' to sign up for DACA

In this January 30, 2018 photo, White House Chief of Staff John Kelly applauds President Donald Trump at his first State of the Union address, at the Capitol in Washington.

WASHINGTON (AP):

Some immigrants may have been "too afraid" or "too lazy" to sign up for the Obama-era programme that offered protection from deportation, White House chief of staff John Kelly said yesterday as he defended President Donald Trump's proposal aimed at breaking the impasse on immigration.

In remarks to reporters, Kelly described Trump's plan, which would provide a path to citizenship for up to 1.8 million people - more than Democrats had sought. He noted extension of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) programme was "beyond what anyone could have imagined".

"There are 690,000 official DACA registrants and the president sent over what amounts to be two and a half times that number, to 1.8 million," he said. "The difference between (690,000) and 1.8 million were the people that some would say were too afraid to sign up, others would say were too lazy to get off their asses, but they didn't sign up."

Kelly spoke as lawmakers have deadlocked in an effort to reach a bipartisan deal on protecting from deportation recipients of the programme, known as 'Dreamers'.

Barring a last-minute agreement - which seems unlikely - Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky, has said his chamber will begin considering the issue, a debate that GOP leaders expect to start next week.

Kelly said Trump would likely reject an effort to pass a short-term extension for the programme, which is set to expire on March 5.

But he also noted the March 5 deadline may not have immediate impact. He said immigrants currently protected won't be priorities for deportation as long as they do not commit crimes.